No Fever players will compete in WNBA All-Star 3-point contest
Aliyah Boston, Sophie Cunningham and Kelsey Mitchell are all shooting career-high percentages from beyond the arc, but none were included in the six-player field.
The Indiana Fever will not have a representative competing in the 3-point contest at WNBA All-Star Friday night.
That’s despite Aliyah Boston (46.9%), Sophie Cunningham (43.7%), and Kelsey Mitchell (42.3%) being among the league leaders in 3-point percentage this season and all shooting at least three 3s per game.
All three Fever players are also shooting career-high marks from downtown.
The WNBA announced the list of six competitors on Tuesday afternoon.
Bridget Carleton (Portland)
Azzi Fudd (Dallas)
Natisha Hiedeman (Seattle)
Rhyne Howard (Atlanta)
Marina Mabrey (Toronto)
Janelle Salaün (Golden State)
Of note: Howard and Mabrey rank first and second, respectively, in 3-point attempts per game. Carleton is fourth behind Clark.
According to ESPN, Caitlin Clark, Sabrina Ionescu and Kayla McBride declined invitations.
Asked on Sunday at her youth basketball camp whether she had considered participating, Cunningham said she would welcome the opportunity — but hadn’t heard anything.
“I mean, I don’t make any of those decisions,” she said. “I don’t even know who makes those decisions. Whoever makes them, I would like to know sooner than later if I’m doing that because I have plans to be had.
“But I think it’d be a cool opportunity if I get chosen. But there’s a lot of great shooters in our league that deserve it. And so if I’m one of them, awesome. If I’m not, it’s okay.”
Then, below is her tweet after the announcement was made:
Fever guard Lexie Hull competed in 2025. Clark, Boston, Cunningham, and Makayla Timpson were all courtside to support her
The 3-point contest is the primary attraction to All-Star Friday night, which will be held at Wintrust Arena in Chicago. The night will also include the Shooting Stars, and those participants will be announced in the coming days.
The league would naturally want Clark and Ionescu involved, but they reportedly elected not to. Instead, they may be prioritizing rest and their health.
One of Clark’s primary sponsors, State Farm, is the title partner of the 3-point contest and they are introducing a new promotion during the contest: Two ball pedestals will be positioned at deep shot locations for “from the logo” shots. Those shots are worth three points rather than the one for every normal made 3.
The two-round event will feature racks at five locations around the arc, including one all-money-ball rack selected by each participant. Regular balls are worth one point, while money balls are worth two.
The two players with the highest first-round scores advance to the championship round.
The league hopefully has more planned for Friday night. The event is enjoyable but traditionally brief, and this year’s program currently includes only the Shooting Stars and 3-point contest.
Last year in Indianapolis, New York swept the two competitions: Natasha Cloud won the skills challenge, while Ionescu won the 3-point shootout. But she will not defend her 2025 title.
Note: Former Pacers PA Announcer Tim Sinclair, who has been with the Bulls since 2020, will serve as the voice inside Wintrust Arena for All-Star Friday night.
More $ For Participants
This will be the first All-Star weekend under the new Collective Bargaining Agreement, which was ratified this past spring.
Here’s what each participant will receive:
All-Star game: $15,000
All-Star MVP: $20,000
3-point contest: $10,000
3-point contest winner: $20,000
Skills challenge: $7,500
Skills challenge winner: $12,500
Thank You Scott for your reporting. Accurate and Trustworthy. I sincerely hope Fever Upper Management apologized to you for their ridiculous actions toward you.
Further the WNBA is showing their negative bias and ignorance to the world. Major news networks on cable & online are covering WNBA insanity. Please keep up your good work Scott . We need you
Sophie makes a good point: who does make these decisions?
I can sort of see not inviting Boston and Mitchell since they will be in the all star game (but they are absolutely worthy of an invite based on their shooting), but Sophie's absence feels like an intentional snub.
Looking at the current 3-point percentage list on the WNBS app, only Salaun (18th) and Mabrey (20th) are in the top twenty.
I'm glad Clark said no.